Convert Microsoft Access database to MySQL

[SteveW]

This thread is for reader comments or questions about my article "Migrating a Microsoft Access database to MySQL."

You can start a new topic, if you prefer.

[philverb]

I was hoping that you'd include an example of the mdb-tools FLAG for throwing things into the idiom of MySQL.  Thank you for the article.  There could have been a moment after mentioning the MySQL variant where you take to time to say:

#######################
[root@localhost ~]# mdb-schema
Usage: mdb-schema [options] <file> [<backend>]
where options are:
  -T <table>     Only create schema for named table
  -N <namespace> Prefix identifiers with namespace
  -S             Sanitize names (replace spaces etc. with underscore)
[root@localhost ~]# man
########################

mdb-schema -S MDBFILE.mdb mysql [as opposed to other DB platforms, where 'sybase', 'oracle', 'postgres', or others could have had a spot.]
#########################

[philverb]

[the idea being about just where to place the flag, and just with what it is interchangeable]

Wonderful post, Steve --and thank you again!

[SteveW]

Your suggestion led to a discovery. I'm using Ubuntu 9.04, so when I type
mdb-schema
or
man mdb-schema
it shows that the -S flag is available. So does the documentation at http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/jaunty/man1/mdb-schema.1.html. But if you browse to the later versions on that page you'll see that -S isn't shown anymore in 10.04LTS and after. It's also not shown at http://linux.die.net/man/1/mdb-schema.

I didn't mention -S or the other mdbtools options because I hadn't used them and couldn't describe them any better than the documentation, but now I wonder if the -S option still exists in later versions.

If any of the mdbtools programs create unacceptable or undesirable table names, it seems like it should be possible to correct them in the output files with sed or by manually editing them before using them to do the table creates and data transfers.

[ciara1]

Try to use "Access-to-MySQL" software to convert it for you, make sure you unhide all the access files you want to convert, a free trial is available on internet...just google search